The Summer That Changed My Life
by oxxDarkxVampirexAngelxAniexxo
Summary: Summer finds herself becoming increasingly fascinated with a dead man, Connor, from the old Zenith team. She sets out to reveal what really happened all those years ago, determined to uncover the mystery that surrounds his death. What will she find?
1. The Summer I Was Sent Away

**A Zoom fanfiction:**

**The Summer That changed my life**

--a--

Prologue:

The Summer I Was Sent Away

---a---

Summery: Summer is a part of the Zenith team, a group of people with 'super-powers' who use their unique talents to fight evil and save the earth on a regular basis. While she is kept locked up in the base to develop her power she also begins to develop a fascination for the last Zenith team. Most of them had been killed years before, all except for Zoom, or so they think. As she is taught how to use her powers, Summer finds herself becoming increasingly distracted. She is fascinated with a dead man, Connor, from the old team and she sets out to find out what really happened all those years ago and uncover the mystery that surrounds his death.

-a-

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoom

-A-

Summer had arrived at the military base the day before and was made part of the Zenith team almost right away. She was monitored and watched thoroughly by the scientific team of the base and by the end of her first day in this foreign place she was sure they must know everything about her by now. They had done many tedious tests to examine her abilities, had recorded many other observations and also taken so many notes; whatever was written in them she didn't understand and didn't even care to comprehend.

She had been shown to her new living quarters the night before so that she could sleep. It wasn't much, just a small bedroom, like the one she had had while staying at the foster care home. All the other facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens, etc were shared. This place reminded her more and more of her previous foster care home. However, there was one big difference; when it came to getting up for school she usually didn't have to wake up until eight in the morning. But here, as soon as dawn approached they were forced up and out of their beds at an unreasonable hour and Summer was given her first bitter taste of what this institution would be like and how her life would be from now on.

Getting up out of bed in her uniform issued shorts and tank top pyjama set she walked over to her draws, still bleary eyed, and rummaged through them for her new –also uniform issue – clothes. Pulling out the terrible looking mustard yellow jumpsuit with the Zenith logo on it that she would be made to wear she stared at it for a minute in wonder at who could have chosen such a colour for their outfits. Then deciding that she didn't really care anyway, Summer pulled out her underwear and a dark green tank top to wear underneath the suit. She also grabbed a towel, her shampoo, her toothbrush and a hair bobble and proceeded to head out of her room with these things in hand to find the showers in this place.

Finally she had found the female's facilities and had breakfast, which consisted of a bowl of weatabix and a glass of orange juice and had then found the female shower rooms and taken a nice long hot shower. She had taken her time washing her hair, not caring if she was supposed to be rushing to get ready since she had been so rudely awakened so early in the morning. This was her pay back. After she was dried off and changed she brushed her teeth thoroughly and washed her face and tied up her now clean and damp shiny long red hair in to a French plait to let it dry and naturally curl slightly. She stared at her reflection in the mirror with her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and happily examined her perfect naturally pale soft and smooth complexion to make sure there were no ugly spots appearing. Finally Summer was satisfied with how she looked and keeping her icy demeanour in check she stalked out of the bathroom and in to the lions den.

When Summer was ready she was ushered in to a conference style room with her new teammates who she had yet to be properly introduced to. A young woman walked in a moment later, well actually she more or less stumbled in clumsily and then straightened herself, trying to look dignified and as it that hadn't just happened. When the woman got to the front of the room she turned to face them, coughed a little as if clearing her throat to get their attention and introduced herself to them as Marsha. Not bothering with other introductions just yet she hurried on to the next topic, not taking questions at this moment at time as she stated when Summer tried to ask her what they were here for. Brushing off Summer's query she announced the news to them; they had all given an impressive display of their powers and now that the preliminary observations were over and done with they were now officially in her care. They would stay here to be trained in how to use their 'special' abilities in combat and for the greater good. The woman smiled, beaming happily at them, as if this was an exciting field trip of something and the children were enjoying themselves, when really this was a government facility they were locked up in and it didn't look like any of them were enjoying themselves so far. First impressions of Marsha weren't great and Summer silently defined her as a bit of a klutz and obviously naïve if she was always this cheery, considering that she was locked up in this dreary prison. However, she was amazing at evading questions and only gave them positive and obviously fake answers. Summer quickly learned that she had no choice in the matter of her life.

As she sat there silently, waiting for Marsha to stop prattling on about how 'special' they all were and start the introductions, Summer was so bored that she started to reminisce about her past. Summer's parents had left her when she was a child and she had been in foster homes ever since. That was how the government had found her; her powers had always been a problem for her and the families she had stayed with had sent her back when they found out what a 'freak' she was. As a ward of the state she had been sent here for being different. She had no home to go back to; just a foster care home for other abandoned children, which was filled with people who were all scared of her and her powers. Her life at the local high school hadn't been at all fun either, she was constantly victimised and taunted by bullies because she was 'strange' and didn't like to make attachments to people since they all left her eventually. So with no life to get back to she had reluctantly obeyed the American government and was now trapped once again in an unknown and terribly strict place; this was the story of her life really.

However in this strange place she wasn't alone, there were others like her here too; other people with 'abilities'. This was supposed to give her hope, but instead it gave her little comfort at all.

-A-

So, that was the prologue for my first Zoom story so far.

Sorry if the structure of the paragraphs seemed a little weird or off in some way. For some reason that's how it seemed to me but I can't really see why when I look back over it. So if you have any idea what could be wrong with the way I have written this prologue then please let me know what I can do to fix it.

I remember when I was younger and this film came out and I watched it over and over. Then the other day I found it and watched it again and decided to start up some fan-fictions about it. ^^

I noticed that there aren't that many stories up for Zoom so hopefully I will be able to change that a bit by writing up all my story ideas. :"]

I have so many ideas but this is the one I liked the most so I developed it and this story is the result.

I hope that you enjoyed the prologue for my upcoming story and if you liked it then keep an eye out for the first chapter, which I will be posting up soon. ^__^

Thanks for reading and please review.

…Anie


	2. The Summer I Realized I Wasn't Alone

The Summer That changed my life

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Chapter 1:

The Summer I realised I wasn't alone in the world

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Summary: Summer is with the others in the conference room, their new classroom from now on. They are introduced to each other and spend the day talking and getting to know each other better.

--a--

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoom

-A-

Finally Summer snapped out of her daze and realised that Marsha had at last stopped wittering on and on about how much they were sure to like it here and how special they all were with their unique talents, blah blah blah. Summer focused on the woman as she came to stand in front of her now. Summer was at the back of the room and the others had to turn around in their chairs to face her. Slowly, she sank deeper in her seat behind her desk, attempting to stay hidden and out of sight from them. Summer hated being the centre of attention almost as much as she hated people in general.

Thankfully Marsha was now moving away from her and back to the front of the room and the others turned their attention away from her and back to the woman again. Marsha told them that she was going to leave them here on their own for a bit while she goes to find the person who will be teaching them how to use their abilities so that they can get to know him before they start their training. For now their task was to get acquainted with each other. And with that final note she stepped out of the room to leave them to it, while she went to go find where Mr Shepherd had gotten to, he was already late, and it was only the first day.

-a-

In the conference room, which was to be their classroom from now on, the children sat in silence, shifting slightly in their seats and uncomfortably glancing at each other for a few moments before they awkwardly made their introductions. Cindy was the first to break the silence and the thick tension that had bottled up in the room. She stood up from her seat and went to the front of the room where Marsha had stood previously and then the little girl proceeded to very politely introduce herself.

Summer sat silently as she watched and listened to the girl. She was young and seemed very sweet from her initial attitude, she was small, as young children are, with tanned skin, which suggested she was from one of the hotter areas of America. She had long golden blonde hair which was currently tied up in cute pigtails and she had wide stormy grey eyes, which she was using to stare at them as she confidently talked to three strangers about herself. She told them that her name was Cindy Collins, age 6. She was from Texas and her parents had sent her here because she was 'special'.

Her ability was super strength and she demonstrated it by picking up one of the large metal desks and holding it up above her with one hand gripped on to it. When she saw their looks of amazement and they started clapping at her she grinned happily at them. For once she wasn't being scolded for using her power. She gently placed the desk back down and when she let go of it they all saw that she had left a small handprint on the edge from where she had gripped it. The younger boy instantly exclaimed that she was so cool and got up to join her at the front of the room.

-a-

Cindy had started them off and now they were all eagerly waiting for their turn to introduce themselves. Summer studied the chubby looking younger boy as he told them about himself. He was slightly tall for his age, with dark misty blue/green eyes that reminded Summer of the sea. She looked more closely at him and noticed that he had short dark brown hair, traditionally styled and slightly messy looking, the norm for young boys who didn't bother with a comb in the morning. They soon learned that his name was Tucker and he was 12 and from Miami. He had been recruited to this place when he had show his powers in front of a group of people who had been bullying him about his size. He told them that his weight problem was partly due to his ability. When they all looked puzzled he showed them what he meant.

Summer was startled when suddenly his hand grew to be enormous and then it seemed to deflate and then he did the same with his stomach, inflating it somehow it seemed as it grew bigger at his will and then also seemed to deflate. With that his show ended and he smiled at them, happy that they seemed to have accepted him and his unusual power and he was amused by the looks of awe plastered on their faces. Cindy looked surprised and giggled at him, telling him that she thought his power was cool too. It was obvious that Tucker and Cindy had a lot in common and were sure to get along very well straight away.

Summer stopped ogling at the boy and his unusual talent when she realised it was rude to do so, and it was made obvious that the show wasn't finished yet when the other member of the group besides her who wasn't stood up yet shifted in his seat. She watched as the other boy who was probably around her age by the looks of him was the next to get up and walk to the front of the classroom where he joined Cindy and Tucker to introduce himself.

-a-

Summer soon found out that the older boy's name was Dylan, he was from New York and she had been right, he was 18 years old, only a year older than her. He continued to tell them about himself, all the while staring intently at Summer with a look of pride for himself and in fascination at her. He was quite tall, with a lean body that hid his muscles slightly, but made him look great anyway, she knew that he could handle himself in a fight and from his physique he probably already had, many times before. Raking her eyes over him appreciatively, she smiled at him slightly, happy with the view.

He had mystifying light hazel eyes that looked almost green/grey in colour and when she looked in to them she seemed lost for an instant in their wondrous bright depths. He was certainly handsome, with chiselled features and a strong square jaw that was lightly covered with un-shaven facial hair. His shoulder length light brown hair that he left down curtained his enchanting good-looking face. From just one quick glance at him she had taken in so much and from his appearance she assumed that he would have been classed as a skater boy at school no doubt. But under all his beautiful features she could feel his intelligence, he was really quite smart, he just didn't apply it much, and she liked him all the better for it.

Then suddenly he smirked at her and he was gone. She sat up straight in her seat and looked around wondering what happened. Cindy and Tucker were staring straight at where Dylan had just been standing and where they could no longer see him. Then a second later he reappeared again, standing right next to Summer, making her jump and startling the others who gasped in surprise. He smiled at them and offered his explanation. His power was invisibility, he could bend light around him so that people couldn't see him when really he was still there, just not noticeable to the naked eye. They all laughed a little after being so surprised and Dylan seemed sufficiently pleased that they liked his demonstration of his power. He gave a little bow and walked back to the front of the room to rejoin Cindy and Tucker who were beaming at him in amazement. Summer knew better though and came to the conclusion that no doubt he used his invisibility to get in and out of trouble.

Summer found that she was unusually calm and relaxed around these three people who were just like her. It was a nice feeling and she felt her cold heart warm up a little and her attitude became a little more pleasant as she continued to get on well with these strangers. Now it was her turn to introduce herself to them and she nervously stood up to join them at the front of the room. She took slow steps to give her time to even out her breathing and slow down her fast beating heart to keep her calm. When she was close to them she took a deep breath and said her first words to them.

-a-

"My name is Summer, I am 17 and from California. My power is telekinesis and some form of telepathy I think, I just know and see things sometimes." Well that had seemed to go okay so far, they were looking at her kindly and a little expectantly and Summer realised what they wanted. Deciding to indulge them and give them a little demonstration of her power she backed up slightly and began.

First she fixated on levitating the chair in front of her, she tossed it around the room a little, letting it fly above them and watching contently at their looks of wonder and awe. Then settling it back down from where she had picked it up from she told them that she would show them her other power if she could have a volunteer. Cindy immediately shot her hand up in the air and kept saying 'pick me, pick me' just like children do to get attention. She smiled at Cindy and wondered over to her, happily obliging the girl's request to be her assistant.

Summer stood right in front of Cindy and focused on her eyes as she asked the girl to think of a number between 1 and 10 and keep it in her head. Cindy chose 5 and as soon as she had thought it Summer relayed this number to them. Cindy looked at her and yelled out that she was right, she had chosen 5. Then to show them that she wasn't tricking them she asked Cindy to now think of the time when she used her powers last in the outside world, before she had been sent here. Picking up images from Cindy's mind Summer told the story of how it had been Halloween and Cindy had been out trick or treating when a boy had tried to steal her candy. Reflexively she had thrown him in to a tree using her super strength, much to the attention of the people around her, including her mother.

With that said Summer stopped staring in to Cindy's eyes and moved away from the girl slightly. Cindy just looked amazed and was unable to say anything as she stood there with her mouth wide open staring at Summer. She soon snapped out her daze of astonishment and told the boys that it was true and Summer had read her mind. The boys looked just as amazed as Cindy and they smiled warmly and welcomingly at Summer. They all started talking more to each other, comfortable now that they had gotten the secret of the abilities out of the way.

-a-

They talked and talked about themselves, their likes and dislikes, their interests and hobbies, their families and friends, their home and school, until finally they seemed to have run out of things to say and just sat in comfortable silence in a group around Cindy's desk at the front with the handprint now embedded in to it. When they got bored they would just play a game, making the rules of them up as they went along, it was the most fun they had all had in a long time. Being open about their powers and being able to talk and share stories about them was really helping.

By now it was about lunchtime and the guards brought their food in for them and the small group of four uniquely talented 'children' all sat together and ate. Soon enough they had found more to mention and Cindy and Tucker were talking about what they had in common, which surprisingly seemed a lot for a 6 year old girl and a 12 year old boy. Meanwhile Dylan flirted with Summer and they talked in more depth about each other, about their powers and their pasts.

By the time Marsha came back to see them it was getting late and nearing the end of their day. She had brought their dinner for them and they happily sat together and ate while she explained some basic things about the time they would be spending here and how things were going to be, the general information. She had been unable to find Mr Shepherd but promised to introduce them to him tomorrow when they are showed around the base and start their training. Marsha was pleased that they all got along so well and happily let them go back to their quarters so that they could have some time to relax and do what they wanted before they had to be in bed and lights out at 9pm – 7pm for Cindy since she was so young.

The guards escorted them back to their rooms, which were all together in a larger living space that they shared. Summer traipsed back alongside Dylan and they continued to talk when they shuffled in to the living room and sat down. It was nearing 7pm so Cindy got ready and went to bed while Tucker headed off in to his room to read his comics before lights out, leaving Dylan and Summer alone.

-a-

Dylan and Summer were sat next to each other on the actually comfortable sofa, facing each other as they talked a little more. For a while they talked about their lives at school since they could relate to each other's experiences of being classed as a freak. Then they talked about their hobbies and found that they have a lot in common really. Summer told him how her powers were discovered when she made food cover these three cheerleader bullies.

Dylan laughed at her story and he told her his, how he had wished he was invisible when the teacher asked him to go up and answer a question on the board. He easily knew the answer but as he wrote it he felt the stares of the people on his back and accidently turned invisible while writing it and then appeared again, much to the astonishment of the people in the room.

Having said enough on this topic since they had talked all day and gotten to know each other a lot better, they begin to move on to increasingly more interesting and personal things.

"So, Summer, I have been meaning to ask you, what's with the necklace that you keep fiddling with?"

She blushed slightly at the fact that he noticed – well how could he not when he was staring at her intently all day. "It was a gift from my parents before they left me, it's the last thing I have to remember them by. I guess they just couldn't handle my powers so they disappeared and I was sent in to the foster care system at the age of 13."

Dylan felt sorry for her, being sent in to the foster care system just because her parents couldn't handle her powers, it must have been hard on her and he was annoyed with himself for bringing it up when he saw the sad look on her face. When he saw that look on her face he got angry that anyone would leave her just because she was different.

"May I?" He asked to examine the necklace and when she nodded yes he moved close to her to hold it in his fingertips. He got a great idea then, since the necklace looked a little bare he would make her something for it, maybe it would cheer her up a bit and make it so that the necklace didn't only collect bad memories, but good ones too. Them meeting here in this place was definitely going to be one of those happy memories and he was going to make sure of it.

He looked up from the necklace and in to Summer's eyes which stared down in to his own. They were captivated by each other's gaze and before Dylan could even think of what to do now Summer moved those few inches forward and caught his lips with her own. She kissed him softly and lightly, a long chaste, innocent kiss. Then leaving Dylan dazed she pulled away and stood up and whispered to him that she would see him in the morning and with that she went to her room to turn in for the night, very happy with herself.

Meanwhile Dylan just sat on the sofa, dazed and still. Slowly he brought his fingertips up to his lips and smiled, truly – which was a rare thing to see from Dylan. Summer had just kissed him and now he was happier than he had been in a long time, this very well could be the beginning of something special. And with that he got up and went to his own room to sleep, having stolen a quick glance at Summer's door on the way he smiled to himself again. She had left him with the promise of mystery and more and now Dylan couldn't wait for the morning to come so that he could see her again.

-A-

Well, that was the first chapter of my first Zoom story 'The Summer That Changed My Life'. :"]

I hope this was an okay first chapter. To me it seemed a little too much like it was in note form because usually my stories are more detailed than this one and they generally have more dialogue in them too. So I think in future chapters I will try to add more detail and dialogue in. Please let me know if you agree.

By the way, I had no idea where about they came from in America so I just made that information up.

Anyhow, I hope you liked this first chapter and that you will continue to read this story. ^__^

I am trying to update my recent stories more frequently now so that I can finish them and go back to my older and unfinished ones that I need to work on. So hopefully, if I am able to stick to that plan, then the next chapter will be up in about a week. ^^

Thanks for reading and please review

…Anie


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